There's an article about Brooklyn Boatworks, an organization in NYC teaching public school kids how to build Optis, in the new issue of classic yacht (www.classicyachtmag.com). It looks like a great idea! Does anyone know of programs like this in other cities?

I am the Program Director at The Hudson Fisheries Trust in Beacon New York. We teach boatbuilding to children in a similar program. We also have presentations on marlinspike work, design and the history of boats among other programs. Stop by our web site at www.fisheriestrust.org and look around.

We just launched “Clare” last month. We named her after one of the children that helped build both this boat and the Shad boat we built last year. The "Clare" is one of my designs and you can check out a couple of pictures at www.offsoundings.info/clare.htm
All the best,
Robert Gainer

T34,
I've been thinking about building a small skiff for a couple of years now. Your "Clare" is beautiful. Do you have plans and kits available, or do I have to sign up for a course? Being from Chicago might make it difficult to attend one of your courses.

T34,
I've been thinking about building a small skiff for a couple of years now. Your "Clare" is beautiful. Do you have plans and kits available, or do I have to sign up for a course? Being from Chicago might make it difficult to attend one of your courses.

Thanks Camaraderie and Sailortjk1 for the nice comments. We aren’t quite ready to support builders outside our own shop so we don’t sell any plans yet. It is something I would like to do in the future but I can’t see doing it until we move into the new shop and have move of a support staff.

More then that, this boat was designed to be built and used by children. There are some aspects of the design that make her hard to use if you are a full-sized person. For instance the freeboard amidships is such that we can build the boat with the minimum amount of plywood but the freeboard is such that I can’t row the boat comfortable. She is light enough for young kids to move around, launch and recover but is so under built that we consider her a toy and don’t worry about lifespan. After all, more boats will be in the pipeline so children in the program start with building the boat then using the boat to learn to sail and then they move on to larger boats. If the kids enjoy building boats then there are larger more substantial boats to build after this one but some kids will stay with the sailing part of the program and that’s fine with us.

The only concession to adults is the choice of rigs available for the boat. In the days before engines it was common to have the small workboats designed to use either a “summer” rig or a “winter” rig depending on conditions. We have done the same thing and the pictures you saw were taken with the “summer” rig with a 21’ mast on a 15’ foot boat. Much too much sail area for the kids but I have enough weight that we could get away with it. The rig for the kids uses a shorter mast and smaller sail.
All the best,
Robert Gainer

Robert,Keep up the good work. Introducing the young generation to boating is a great achievement. I'll never forget the first time my father took me down to the local Forest Preserve and we rented a 14 footer. I was hooked from my first day on the water.

I'll keep my dream of building that skiff a little while longer. It will happen soon enough.

Does anyone know of a program like this in Florida, maybe on the gulf coast from Tampa to Ft. Myers?

GCB

GCB I don't know of one, but in SF there is one run by the Park Service. They maintain a pier that houses the Balclutha, an old square rigger. On the pier they have lots of boat building programs etc. So keep looking, I bet there is something there.

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